Process flow detail · reference model
Follow feedstock into intermediates and resin families.
The interactive process map is the Project Owner's Figma design adapted to the NETSPIRES static site. Observed benchmark context and historical engineering references remain separately labeled.
Observed source snapshot
The upstream prices used for this snapshot
These cards are rebuilt from the same versioned source snapshot as Market pulse. When the approved price snapshot changes, the displayed period and values change here too.
Petrochemical process flow
Trace feedstock into intermediates, resins and end products.
From Crude Oil to Plastics
The naphtha-based value chain follows one left-to-right process map. Hover a node to trace its upstream and downstream chain.
01Crude
02Refinery Cuts
03Cracking
04Primary Products
05Secondary Products
06Plastics
07End Products
- Ethylene chain
- Propylene chain
- C4 / Methacrylate
- Butadiene / Rubber
- Aromatics (BTX)
- Crude & fuels
Gas & Crude to Plastics
Natural or shale gas and crude-derived streams converge through steam cracking and BTX processing. Feed choice changes the product slate.
01Feedstock
02Processing
03Feed Streams
04Cracking
05Primary Products
06Intermediates
07Plastics & End Use
- Natural gas feed
- Crude & fuels
- Ethylene chain
- Propylene chain
- Butadiene / Rubber
- Aromatics (BTX)
Refinery route boundary
Why one crude barrel does not produce a universal resin yield.
Crude assay, refinery configuration, operating severity, cut points and fuel-product demand change the recoverable LPG, naphtha and gas-oil slate. The process map therefore shows route topology without assigning one universal crude-to-resin percentage.
Observed U.S. refinery yield · 2026-05
What U.S. refineries reported producing—not a fixed one-barrel recipe
Selected reported products are shown to explain the refinery-to-petrochemical boundary. They are not a complete product slate and are not added into a crude-to-resin yield.
Major refinery product outlets
Common bar scale: 0–50% of the EIA refinery-yield denominator
Finished motor gasolineLarge fuel-product outlet; gasoline demand and refinery operation affect the remaining product slate.
Distillate fuel oilMajor middle-distillate outlet that competes with other refinery cut and operating objectives.
Kerosene-type jet fuelA material refinery outlet whose demand can change cut-point and operating priorities.
Petrochemical-feed context
Common bar scale: 0–5% of the EIA refinery-yield denominator
Hydrocarbon gas liquidsBroad refinery HGL stream; it is not equivalent to polymer-grade propylene or a resin feed quote.
Naphtha for petrochemical feedstock useThe directly relevant reported U.S. refinery-yield series for naphtha used as petrochemical feedstock.
Other oils for petrochemical feedstock useA separate EIA petrochemical-feedstock category; it must not be silently combined with naphtha.
These measures show the observed U.S. refinery output structure for the stated month.
Naphtha, other petrochemical oils or suitable gas-liquid streams can enter downstream chemical routes.
The historical DOE table below applies to the selected cracker feed—not to all refinery input.
Calculation boundary: Net production or adjusted net production divided by input of crude oil, hydrogen, other hydrocarbons, and net input of unfinished oils, according to the EIA product-specific refinery-yield definition. Therefore, 0.8% naphtha yield does not mean that every crude barrel produces 0.8% naphtha and then a fixed percentage of resin.
Official source: EIA U.S. Refinery Yield table (opens in a new tab) · EIA refinery-yield definition (opens in a new tab). Source ID: SRC-EIA-US-REFINERY-YIELD. Values retain EIA's one-decimal precision. The selected rows do not form a complete slate, and the two chart groups use separately labeled scales.
Buyer interpretation: use crude as upstream context, then identify the actual naphtha, refinery-propylene or other intermediate route before applying a yield or cost model.
Source-reported historical reference · gas / propane / naphtha
Feed selection changes the steam-cracker product slate.
Typical olefin yields by selected cracker feed
Value type: OBSERVED_SOURCE_REPORTED_REFERENCE · Version: DOE-CHEM-PROFILE-T3-1/HISTORICAL · weight percent of 100 mass units of the selected cracker feed.
Ethane feed
Output from 100 feed units
Ethylene
76%
Propylene
3%
C4
2%
Propane feed
Output from 100 feed units
Ethylene
42%
Propylene
16%
C4
5%
Naphtha feed
Output from 100 feed units
Ethylene
31%
Propylene
16%
C4
9%
Each row is a separate cracker case: Ethylene / Propylene / C4 output percentages. They are not added together; feed selection changes the co-product slate.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy and Environmental Profile of the U.S. Chemical Industry, Chapter 3, Table 3-1 (opens in a new tab). Source ID: SRC-DOE-CHEMICAL-INDUSTRY-PROFILE. The table is historical, attributes its yield data to an older industry reference, and is not a current producer-specific balance, crude assay, plant guarantee, resin price or cost allocation.
How to read the result
- Observed price: each benchmark card keeps its source-native unit, geography and period.
- Process map: the Figma-derived flow shows where feedstocks become intermediates and resin families.
- Observed refinery yield: the current U.S. EIA snapshot describes reported refinery output structure, not a one-barrel recipe.
- Historical yield reference: the selected cracker-feed basis is separate from the crude-refinery boundary.
- Cost model boundary: route-specific conversion, co-product, logistics, grade and margin assumptions are not added until a versioned package is approved.
Update rule: observed source prices and the EIA refinery-yield snapshot update only through their approved source-data refresh and review. Historical route references change only after evidence review.